Amyris Q3 Loss Narrows 54%

Amyris Inc.’s third-quarter loss narrowed 54% as the company lowered its operating costs and increased sales of renewable products.

For the quarter ended September 30, the renewable chemicals and fuels company narrowed its loss to $20.3 million from $43.7 million a year earlier. Excluding certain items such as stock-based compensation, its loss narrowed to $12.9 million from $36.8 million a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter fell 47% to $19.1 million from $36.3 million a year earlier as Amyris transitioned out of the ethanol and ethanol-blended gasoline business.

During the company’s quarterly conference call, Amyris’ CEO John Melo said the farnesene plant located at Paraiso in Brazil is entering its final stages of commissioning with consideration progress across all areas of the plant. He said the company is on budget and on target with planned commercial production at Paraiso expected in early 2013.

Amyris, which had delivered test samples of its fragrance oil to its partner Firmenich, said it made considerable progress in improving those fragrance oil producing strains. The company said its strain performance is ahead of its projected timeline for delivery. Therefore, the company said investment in its synthetic biology platform, not just for farnesene but also for making compounds like fragrance oil, is paying off.

In the flavors and fragrances area, where the company had technological breakthroughs, Amyris is in advanced discussions with multiple partners for expanded collaborations that provide revenues and add to its product portfolio. The company also said it has considerable product demand from its customers and partners mainly renewable diesel in Brazil and its cosmetic emollient squalene globally. In addition, Amyris also has a number of additional product opportunities in the coming year to coincide with the ramp up of its production at Paraiso.

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